Samuel Alito

Instead Of Televising Supreme Court Oral Arguments, Justice Samuel Alito Wants Dogs To Reenact Them

This justice hopes the Supreme Court goes to the dogs.

By Staci Zaretsky on October 21, 2016 2:13 pm
Justice Samuel Alito

Justice Samuel Alito

If you want a little bit of amusement when you go home, I recommend that you do an internet search for “Supreme Court dogs YouTube.” Some of you may have seen this, but this would make our arguments much more interesting. There was a comedy show that put nine dogs of different types on a bench that looked just like the Supreme Court bench, and they had an audio recording of us asking questions, and they had each of the dogs asking these questions. It’s absolutely hilarious.

I liked mine in particular because my dog was by far the most personable dog… except for the end, when he engages in a little bit of misbehavior.

— Justice Samuel Alito, during an invitation-only question-and-answer session held last night at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo, New York, and moderated by University at Buffalo School of Law Interim Dean James A. Gardner and Hodgson Russ Chairman Daniel C. Oliverio. When the topic of cameras in the courtroom was raised during the conversation, Justice Alito encouraged audience members to watch the John Oliver sketch described above, proposing that in the future, Supreme Court dogs be used “in lieu of actually having video transmission of oral arguments.”

(The “little bit of misbehavior” Justice Alito mentioned refers to when his canine alter ego attempts to mount the canine version of Justice Elena Kagan. Watch that, and more, in the video below. We’ll have in-depth coverage of Justice Alito’s entertaining speaking engagement in the coming days.)

Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.